Gornitzky, Daniel

Son of Yerucham HaKohen and Ruchama. He is descended from a family with national-religious roots. He was born in Tel Aviv on February 14, 1951. He studied at the Tel-Nordvi Elementary School and the Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium, both in Tel Aviv, and was an active member of Maccabi Hatzair, He studied basketball and had a small sailing boat, where he liked to go sailing in the sea, where he graduated from the mathematics track, and since he specialized in physics in his high school studies he wanted to continue his studies in building engineering. His friends said that he was a “cliff” they could rely on, and was a member of the “Noar LeNoar” youth movement, and on every occasion he went for a walk around the country, He also took part in a march to Jerusalem, where he studied Talmud for many years, loved history and read history books, and was abroad (in Switzerland and Italy) and on a recent visit abroad with a youth delegation. Very much from the encounter with the Jews of the Diaspora. Then he faced for the first time in his life the manifestations of anti-Semitism. He was drafted into the IDF in the middle of August 1969. In February 1970, he graduated with a flying course summa cum laude, and in August of that year he completed a course for squad commanders – also with honors. On September 9, 1970, he fell in battle with the enemy, and was brought to rest in the military cemetery in Kiryat Shaul, where the commander of his platoon wrote about him after he fell: “The actual acquaintance with Danny was crystallized in an ambush, on a journey, In departmental and personal conversations, or in small talk at the table. The relationship between us was very unofficial despite the differences between us. Danny knew that he had acquired the trust of his commanders, and yet he behaved with pure modesty. In the operational activity I preferred to include Danny among the other members. They were all good but Danny had something else. A special shade. Despite his youth and inexperience, I knew him over older soldiers. He informed the rest of the crew, and especially me, a sense of security when we entrusted him with most of the performance. As a result, we were able to sit together in the usual nighttime activity and talk. He told me about his high school studies, his girlfriend in the city, his feeling in the department, his ambition to be an officer in the unit, and his plans for his release. There were cases in which commanders explicitly announced that without Danny, they were not prepared to leave. That was Danny: an excellent warrior, a disciplined soldier, and a loyal friend. I remember him as a very neat soldier. He had never been late, and he had always carried out the tasks he had been given impeccably. More than once he had preferred to carry out shifts, which led to arguments in the department, provided that the matter would end in the best possible way. – – – I have never heard him complain of fatigue because of lack of sleep and continuous operational activity. Each ambush revealed a new interest, original territory. In training he showed excellent performance and always tried to improve his achievements. – – – It was a surprise to the soldiers and admiring the commanders. Sometimes I had to quickly organize a task force on the morning of the day. I woke the department a few hours after a tedious ambush-and Danny was the first to volunteer despite his fatigue. This trait of volunteering for any role, difficult as easy, dangerous as a routine, marked him especially and was one of the lines that stand out in his image. – – – Danny is an eternal example of the bitter and painful reality that the good guys fall in battle. “